


What it did to the Paladins

by avatar_dragon_rider



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Maybe - Freeform, NOT ME THAT'S WHO, Permanent Injury, Protective Lance (Voltron), because my writing process is hectic as quiznak, every relationship is platonic except klance and shallura, first chapter is canon rewrite, healing pods don't heal all wounds, i'll edit the tags when pidge gets pronouns, i'm proud of myself though, keith is loved by all, let's pretend the season 2 finale didn't happen, or as things happen, possibly, somehow i managed to write the entire first chapter w/o pidge pronouns, tags change when i think of more to add, the paladins are all supportive of their furry companion, who the heck knows where this fic is going, why am i so mean to keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-20 17:09:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9501746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avatar_dragon_rider/pseuds/avatar_dragon_rider
Summary: “Paladins!” she called out desperately. “Shiro, can you hear me?”There was a pause, Allura losing a little more hope with each tick that passed, but then… “Yes, princess. We’re alive.” It was Shiro. He sounded exhausted and weak, but he was alive.“Are you sure?” Allura sat up a little in Coran’s arms, her anxiety giving her a resurgence of strength. “Paladins, answer me. Is everyone alright?”“I feel like a limp noodle, but I’m fine.” Hunk.“My insides feel like mush and I kinda wanna barf, but I’m also fine.” Pidge.“Same here.” Lance.A pause.No Keith.





	1. Blackout

**Author's Note:**

> So I had a thought about something. What if Quintessence affects Galras differently than humans? I literally have no backup for this it's just something I wanted to write because WE DON'T SEE KEITH'S FACE WHEN THEY'RE "DEAD" DOES THAT NOT BOTHER ANYONE ELSE BUT ME!!!
> 
> So yeah, there's this. I literally rewrote episode 13 for this fic. Enjoy your daily dose of Galra Keith angst
> 
> (disclaimer: I do not own episode 13 of Voltron. If I did then Shiro would not have pulled a Houdini)

Voltron floated dead in space, communications down in all five lions. Every light was dark; it was like Voltron had never been active at all.

“Zarkon has been trying to develop a device to extract the Quintessence from planets,” Kolivan was saying in response to Coran’s question of what happened. “It appears he succeeded.”

“If it destroys planets,” Coran said anxiously, “what did it do to the Paladins?”

Within their lions, the five Paladins floated seemingly dead, suspended in zero-G a few inches above their chairs. Their eyes were closed, their bodies limp. Video feed was down, and Allura was getting nothing on her radio.

“Paladins!” she called out desperately. “Shiro, can you hear me?”

There was a pause, Allura losing a little more hope with each tick that passed, but then… “Yes, princess. We’re alive.” It was Shiro. He sounded exhausted and weak, but he was alive.

“Are you sure?” Allura sat up a little in Coran’s arms, her anxiety giving her a resurgence of strength. “Paladins, answer me. Is everyone alright?”

“I feel like a limp noodle, but I’m fine.” Hunk.

“My insides feel like mush and I kinda wanna barf, but I’m also fine.” Pidge.

“Same here.” Lance.

A pause.

No Keith.

_No Keith._

“Keith?” Allura called into her radio. “Keith, come in!”

“Keith!” Shiro picked up on Allura’s distress and tried to reach the Red Lion. All he got was static on the other end.

“Why isn’t he responding?” Hunk asked.

“He can’t be…” Lance twisted in his chair, trying to get a view of Red from his cockpit. “He’s not…Is he?”

“He has to be alive,” Pidge said. “Voltron would have fallen apart if one of us was dead.”

Inside the Red Lion, Keith lay dead in his chair. 

Or, at least, he thought he was dead. Everything was black, even when he opened his eyes. He had to blink a few times before the inside of his lion’s cockpit started to come into focus. In his radio, he could hear Allura and Shiro calling out for him.

“I’m…I’m here,” Keith responded weakly, and there was an audible sigh of relief from everyone.

“Oh, thank the Ancients!” Coran said in relief.

“Is Voltron operational?” Allura asked, fear making her voice waver.

Hunk tried his controls. Nothing. “It’s not working.”

“I can’t move my lion,” Keith croaked. He’d barely even tried to move the controls; he recognized the dead presence in his mind from the last time Red’s power was down.

“You’ve been hit with some kind of witchcraft that draws the Quintessence out of you,” Coran explained. “You need to get out of there. Another blast like that and you may not survive.”

“Wait,” Lance interrupted. “What’s that?”

A panel was opening on Zarkon’s ship, the opening glowing purple as something came out. Something huge. The Paladins all looked out their windows in terror as an inactive Robeast bigger than any they’d ever faced came out of the ship.

Allura’s heart began to race. “You must get moving. Remember your training. Remember all the battles you’ve been through.”

Shiro tried his controls again. “Voltron’s still not responding.” He was just about to tell Allura that the castle needs to come get them when the Robeast activated and he felt the familiar grip on his mind, that harsh presence that threatened to rip all that he knew and loved away from him.

Instantly he knew what the Robeast was. “It’s Zarkon.”

Silence. 

None of the Paladins knew what to do. Voltron was unoperational, everyone was still recovering from the dark magic, and Zarkon was coming to tear them apart.

As Zarkon flew toward them, the Castleship raced to intercept him; Allura’s voice cut through the silence like a knife. “Listen to me. You are all true Paladins now. Connect to your lions. Reach out to each other. Fight! This cannot end now!”

The Castleship began to glow, and a beam of white-blue light stronger than any the Paladins had seen it fire flew straight at Zarkon. The glowing metal spike structures on his back resembling wings flew in front of him, blocking the blast, but he was pushed back against his ship as the Castleship came closer. 

The beam angled suddenly, getting closer and closer to the Castleship until― 

Allura’s scream was all the Paladins heard as the Castleship was hit by its own rebounding beam, every light going dark in an instant.

“Allura!” Shiro shouted, eyes wide.

He got no response. The Paladins all stared in shock and disbelief at the castle, some crying, some frozen.

Shiro’s grip tightened on his controls. “Everybody, listen.” His voice was low and serious, steadily getting louder as he spoke. “We have to fight. We have to channel all our energy. Visualize five becoming one. We have to focus everything we have into moving Voltron.” Down below them, Zarkon’s Robeast stood up, staring at the paralyzed Voltron as he prepared to attack. Shiro paid him no mind. “We are the last thing standing in the way of Zarkon’s total universal domination. I’m not giving up that fight. Are you, Hunk?”

Hunk’s face was set in stone. “No.” Yellow’s eyes lit up.

“Pidge?”

Pidge’s face hardened. “Never!” Green came back online.

“Lance?”

Lance smirked wickedly. “Let’s go down swingin’.” Blue’s power returned.

This time, Shiro’s voice was softer, gentler. “Keith.”

Keith leaned forward, gripping his controls. His eyes closed, he took a deep, calming breath. Sweat beaded his face as he opened his eyes― _Galra eyes._ “I’m all in.” His voice shook, but he sounded determined; a smirk that mirrored Lance’s graced his features despite his weakness. Red’s lights blinked into life.

Shiro released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Then let’s get Voltron back in this battle!”

The power to the Black Lion flickered once, twice, then returned full-force. Zarkon, now free of the Castleship’s beam, roared toward them at blazing speed.

Keith slammed his bayard into the access port, twisted it, and Voltron’s blade shimmered to life in Red’s jaws just as Zarkon slammed into them, a glowing purple blade in his hand. Voltron was on defense, parrying Zarkon’s attacks while desperately trying to gain the upper hand. Keith never once faltered with the sword, but at times, Shiro swore it was Red acting of her own accord, rather than Keith driving her actions for her. Pidge seemed to notice it too; the Green Lion started firing energy blasts at Zarkon as soon as they were far enough away, dodging the ones fired back at Voltron.

“Alright,” Shiro said, pulling Voltron further away, “let’s hit him with the big guns. Hunk, form shoulder cannon!”

Hunk plugged in his bayard, twisting it to form the giant cannon on Voltron’s right shoulder. At Shiro’s command of “FIRE!” the cannon shot a blast of energy straight at Zarkon.

Zarkon’s wings flew in front of him to block the blast, distracting Voltron long enough for Haggar to fire another blast of dark magic. “Look out!” Shiro yelled; Voltron just barely managed to dodge the blast, only to get kicked by Zarkon.

Once Voltron was righted again, Pidge took the offensive. Jets of energy shot out from Green’s mouth, flying at Zarkon but never hitting him; he’d dodge any that came his way. He flew at them, blade at the ready, and brought it down just in time for Voltron to block it. The dueling giants came apart, Voltron moving far enough away for Pidge to fire another energy blast. Zarkon blazed at them, slamming his sword into theirs and sending Voltron spiraling away.

“We’ve never faced anything this powerful before!” Pidge shouted as Voltron’s thrusters activated to get them flying straight again.

Shiro leaned forward in his chair. “One way or another, this may be our last battle. We’ve gotta give everything we have. Dig deep, and fight!”

The fight seemed to last forever. Voltron largely kept its distance, using the advantage of space to fire energy beams from the Green Lion. The sword was a last resort, reserved for necessary close combat; now everyone seemed to notice Red was largely immobile unless the sword was needed. 

Suddenly, Zarkon slammed into Voltron, blades crossed. Shiro stiffened, clenching his teeth in effort to block out the offending presence of the Galra emperor as he invaded his mind. “He’s trying to control my lion. I can feel him in my mind.”

“Fight it, Shiro!” Keith growled. Red brandished the sword, pulling it back, and everyone roared as Voltron surged forward, ready to impale Zarkon’s Robeast armor.

Unfortunately, Zarkon was ready for them. He used his forearm to block the blade,sparks flying as it moved against the armor, then wrapped his whip around Voltron’s throat, dark power surging through the robotic lions. It was more than they could handle. The Paladins cried out at the feeling of limbs being torn from their torsos as Zarkon’s influence ripped Voltron apart into the individual lions.

“You should have fled like your predecessors.” Zarkon’s voice was clear in all of their minds. “Now the time of the Voltron Paladins is finished.”

Almost altogether, the arms and legs of Voltron recovered, righting their lions in space. Red turned her head toward Black at Keith’s command. 

“Shiro?” Keith called through the radios. “Shiro!”

No response.

“Something’s wrong with Shiro.” Keith stared at the dormant Black Lion, trembling so bad the controls were shaking with him. He turned to the others, hoping his determination hid the exhaustion in his voice. “Guys, we can’t let Zarkon get the Black Lion.”

The four Paladins readied themselves for battle, and Zarkon blasted toward them, spiky wings flared behind him.

Shiro’s senses slowly returned to him; his vision blurred back into focus, Pidge’s voice fading into existence in his radio.

“…Zarkon away from the Black Lion!”

“Come on! We can’t give up!” Keith, his voice commanding yet somehow weak, leading the others in battle against the ultimate foe.

Shiro looked out his lion’s eyes, watching the four Paladins circle around Zarkon, firing energy beams that did little damage, if any, to Zarkon’s wing shields. “I’m running out of strength, man!” Hunk was saying.

“LOOK OUT!” Lance called, screaming as Zarkon’s electrical-energy whip―the same whip he’d used to tear Voltron apart―skimmed his lion. Tiny arcs of purple electricity bounced off Blue’s outer armor.

Pidge yelled as Green fired a blast from the plant beam, but only succeeded in growing vines on Zarkon’s shield.

The sounds of his Paladins screaming and grunting the only sounds in his ears, Shiro turned his head to his right to see the bayard access port rising into position. His eyes moved back to the fight: Keith screaming as Zarkon’s whip hit Red; Hunk slamming into the shield and Pidge screaming his name.

Shiro knew instantly what he had to do. As the Black Lion surged forward, he flashed back to all he’d done with his lion, from the very beginning. From the first training exercise they’d ever done together to the fight in the astral plane. By the time he had covered almost half the distance between him and Zarkon, the enemy had tossed all the other lions aside and was ready for him. Shiro felt nothing but the bond between him and Black, her strength and power blending with his, and just before they could collide with Zarkon, Black’s wings shimmered and extended into their true form. She phased through Zarkon’s Robeast, and Shiro entered the astral plane, snatching Zarkon’s bayard right out of his hand.

The Black Lion reappeared behind Zarkon, her wings glowing before fading back to their smaller size. Inside the cockpit, Shiro recovered himself in time to hear Lance ask in shock and awe, “Whoa. What did you do?”

Shiro looked at the bayard in his hand. “I’ve got Zarkon’s bayard.” As he said this, the bayard transformed from the corrupted version Zarkon held back into its normal form.

“You mean you’ve got your bayard,” Keith pointed out, breathless.

Shiro looked at the Galra base. “We’ve only got a few minutes left before power returns to Zarkon’s ship. FORM VOLTRON!”

It didn’t take them any longer to form Voltron than usual, but something seemed off. Four minds were strong, but one was definitely weaker, like a shadow of its usual presence. In the heat of the moment, it was impossible to tell who it was. All they knew was that they had to form Voltron, they had to do this, they had to win.

As Voltron and Zarkon battled it out once more, Coran and Slav managed to get the Castleship back up and running again. The beaten and battle-weary Paladins received a new surge of inspiration when Coran came on over the radios: “Hello Paladins!”

Everyone uttered a short cheer of relief. “You’re alive!” Hunk exclaimed, tears of joy running down his cheeks.

“Is everyone okay?” asked Shiro.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Don’t worry, guys!” Slav announced before Coran even had a chance to open his mouth.

“Oh, great,” Lance said completely unenthusiastically. “Slav made it.”

As Voltron and Zarkon slammed into each other once more, the purple lights on the Galra base began to glow with a renewed vigor. “The power on Zarkon’s ship is returning!” yelled Coran. “We have to get out of here! I’m going to get Allura!” With that, he shut off the communication link.

Voltron and Zarkon collided in space one more time, throwing themselves away from each other due to the force of the collision. Hunk and Lance burned the thrusters at full power, propelling Voltron toward the enemy, sword at the ready. “This is our last chance,” Shiro said. “Let’s finish this!”

With a collective defiant yell, the Paladins slammed the controls, flinging Voltron straight into Zarkon. For a moment, everything went white, then Shiro slammed his bayard into the access port. Voltron’s blade went up in flames, extending to impale Zarkon’s Robeast armor right through the stomach. The Paladins screaming in unison, Voltron ripped the sword up and out of the Robeast, then the whole thing imploded. Voltron was caught in the crossfire and the lions were ripped away from each other.

Lance was the first to recover, groaning softly as he looked up. “Did we do it?”

Hunk flipped his lion over so he was upright again. “Is it over?”

In front of them, floating in space, lay Zarkon’s destroyed Robeast armor.

_They did it._

Coran suddenly came on over the radios. “I have Allura and Kolivan. We need to go!”

Shiro, woozy from the battle, breathed a sigh of relief, but then glanced to the side to see something that made his heart drop. A little ways below where he and Hunk were flying, the Red Lion lay inactive. “Keith!”

“We need to tow him back onto the ship!” Pidge flew toward the Red Lion, grabbing her in Green’s claws. Shiro flew beneath them, in case Red was dropped. He and Pidge activated their jet boosters, speeding back to the castle.

“Princess, we’re all on board,” Pidge reported once Red had been deposited in her bay and Green secured in hers.

Allura closed her eyes, channeling her energy through the crystal to activate a wormhole. The Castleship disappeared in the wormhole, closing the entrance just before Galra drones could follow them.


	2. Questions and Confusion...and Purple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY UPDATED!!! Sorry guys, I was at camp for a week and then I had camp homework to finish up (I still have camp homework to finish up, yay procrastination) and life has just been crazy. I'll try to update this as often as I can.
> 
> Also HOLY CRAP HOW IS THIS MY MOST POPULAR FIC ON THIS WEBSITE THANKS GUYS I LOVE YOU!!!
> 
> Pidge Pronoun Game: Chapter 2. Still haven't used pronouns for Pidge. I'm gonna have to eventually because I get inside everyone's head at some point but...let's see how long I can keep this up

Shiro raced to the Red Lion’s bay, Lance close on his heels. “Keith!” he called. “Keith, answer me!”

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” Lance choked out through his panting. “What’s going on with Keith?”

“I don’t know. Keith!” Shiro ran right up to Red, but before he could get inside, her eyes lit up. Previously laying on her side, she rolled over onto her stomach and lay in a crouch, putting up her particle barrier. “No!” Shiro banged on the barrier with his Galra hand, trying to break through. “Red! Let us in! Keith’s in trouble!”

“What is happening?” Allura called as she came running into the bay. Coran, Hunk, and Pidge were close behind her. “Why is Red’s particle barrier up?”

“Keith’s still in there!” Shiro said, frantic. “She’s locked us out!”

“Shiro, calm down.” Pidge placed a hand on Shiro’s human arm, squeezing a little to get his attention. “Remember what you’re always telling Keith. Patience yields focus.”

“This isn’t like that!” Shiro ripped his arm out of Pidge’s grip, and the Green Paladin took a step back, eyes wide. Shiro was never this angry or forceful. He almost always kept a level head in every situation, no matter how scared he was.

Maybe it was because, ever since the Quintessence had been sucked out of Voltron, Keith’s video feed had been down; all that came through was his voice. Maybe Shiro would be less worked up if Red had shown Keith’s face at least once during the battle. Was he horribly disfigured somehow? Did his hair turn white, like Shiro’s had from extended overexposure to Quintessence and dark magic?

“Shiro, relax.” Lance gently pushed Shiro away from the barrier. “Pidge is right. You need to calm down. Brute force isn’t going to persuade Red to let us in. She’s obviously trying to protect Keith, and you banging down the particle barrier kinda sends the wrong message.”

Shiro stammered a bit. Since when was Lance serious about anything? Did they suddenly switch personalities?

Lance turned to face Red and placed his hand on the barrier. “Red, it’s Lance.” That seemed kind of obvious. “I know whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it to protect Keith, but I promise, we’re not going to hurt him. Something’s wrong―I know you know that―and we want to help him. In any way we can. Please, Red. You don’t need to protect him from us.”

Silence ensued as everyone stared at Lance in shock. He was never this level-headed and calm, especially when it came to matters concerning Keith or someone getting hurt―and this situation was both of those. Shiro had just enough time to wonder if having the Quintessence sucked out of them had somehow altered their ways of thinking (he failed to rope Pidge and Hunk into this; they both seemed to be acting quite like themselves) before Red growled, almost in warning, and dropped her barrier. Lance smiled up at her and rubbed her chin, and the large robotic lion purred softly in acceptance and opened her mouth to allow the team inside.

Shiro was the first up the ramp, followed by the other three Paladins and the two Alteans. The elevator took them all up to the cockpit; the sliding double doors opened immediately.

Inside, the cockpit glowed with a red light, indicating that the lion was active, but the glow was dim, indicating that the Paladin inside was weak. The top of Keith’s helmet and his gloved right hand were visible; neither seemed to be moving.

“Keith!” Shiro ran to the side of the chair and pulled off Keith’s helmet. “Keith, are you―”

He stopped as soon as Keith’s helmet was removed. The breath caught in his throat and he took a step back, eyes wide, the red helmet dropping out of his hand and onto the floor. “Keith…”

Keith was slumped in his chair, his slow and shaky breaths the only signs of life. But he didn’t look like Keith. His skin, normally pale, was instead a deep, beautiful purple, a few shades lighter than his normal eye color. His ears were large and fluffy, like a cross between a bat’s and a cat’s. His hair was such a deep purple it could almost pass for its usual black. Shiro hadn’t noticed from behind the chair, but now he saw that purple claws poked out of the ends of Keith’s gloves, like long, perfectly manicured nails. Keith’s eyes were closed, but Shiro guessed that if they were open, they’d be a warm golden yellow, completely devoid of a pupil.

Two sides of Shiro warred within him. One side―the side that saw Keith as a friend and knew he wasn’t dangerous―wanted to run to him, sweep him up into his arms, and carry him straight to the medical bay to find out what was wrong. But the other side―the side that feared and hated the Galra and was still in disbelief that Keith was one of them―wanted to leave Keith there and hide in his room under the blankets. It was easier to accept the alien side of Keith when he still looked human; that way he could pretend Keith was just an ordinary human if he really needed to. But this…Did the dark magic do this? Was it just a side effect of being hit with it―it affected his blood and made him look like a Galra? It didn’t make any sense. Keith’s Galra heritage was shrouded in mystery; Keith had said he assumed his mother had been the Galra parent, or at least contained some level of Galra blood. But beyond that, everyone―even Keith―was in the dark. It was entirely plausible that he could shapeshift, though aside from the Alteans, Shiro couldn’t think of an alien race with those abilities.

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when Lance broke out of the trance they had all fallen into when Keith’s appearance had been revealed; they were all in a similar state of shock and disbelief. Lance knelt by the chair, resting his hand against the side of Keith’s face to get his attention. “Keith…Keith wake up. Come on. You’re safe, Red’s safe, we’re all safe. The battle’s over. We won.”

Lance’s voice seemed to bring Keith back to earth―or, rather, Castleship. The Red Paladin’s eyes fluttered open; sure enough, they were Galran yellow, completely lacking a pupil. “Lance?” His voice was barely a whisper, and he sounded like he smoked six packs a day.

Lance smiled. “Yeah, buddy. I’m here.”

Keith looked around―at least, it looked like he was looking around. Hard to tell when the entire goddamn eye was the same shade of yellow. “Shiro…where’s Shiro?”

Shiro was at Keith’s side in an instant. Lance moved back to make room for the Black Paladin so Keith could see him. “I’m right here, Keith. We’re all here.” He nodded to the others, who came forward and stood in a semicircle in front of the chair so they could all be seen.

Keith didn’t seem to care about the others. Shiro had barely finished speaking before Keith was flinging himself into his leader’s arms. Shiro leapt forward to catch him before he fell on his face and sat on the floor with Keith’s limp, barely conscious form in his arms.

“Red…” Keith coughed. “She said…Zarkon…you were in danger…gonna kill you…take the Black Lion…”

“Shh.” Shiro brushed some of Keith’s hair out of his eyes. “It’s okay. I’m alright. Black is, too. We’re all alright.”

That seemed to placate Keith, and the small Galra curled closer to the warmth of Shiro’s embrace, his eyes falling closed.

Shiro looked up at Coran. “Coran, get a pod ready. We’re bringing Keith down to the medical bay.”

Coran looked like he wanted to protest―that there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t―but nodded in acknowledgement and left the lion’s cockpit, heading to the med bay.

Shiro glanced at everyone in turn: Lance, sitting beside him, calm but with eyes full of worry and fear; Pidge, standing beside Hunk, hands clasped together, eyes brimming with tears behind glasses reflecting the red light of the cockpit; Hunk, arm around Pidge in comfort, head turned slightly away from Keith, eyes closed; Allura, hands clasped similar to Pidge, pressed against her heart, eyes down. She seemed to be muttering something under her breath, presumably in Altean from the way her lips moved. A prayer, perhaps? Did Alteans have gods they prayed to?

Shiro pushed those random thoughts aside and lifted Keith up, carrying him bridal style. Funny, he seemed lighter than he normally was. Pidge mumbled something about helping Coran set up the pod and raced out of the cockpit first, now obviously hiding tears. Hunk was next, followed by Shiro carrying Keith, Allura on his left side in case his arm got tired, and Lance brought up the rear. 

“Did you know?” Allura asked softly.

Shiro looked at her, confused. “What?”

“About Keith.” She nodded at Keith’s unconscious form. “His ability to change forms.”

Shiro shook his head. “I don’t think _Keith_ knew.”

The rest of the journey was spent in silence.

It only took about four minutes of walking to reach the med bay. It wasn’t far from the Red Lion’s bay; it lay directly in the center of the castle, but Red was the only lion with a direct path to it. Shiro wondered if that had been intentional during the construction of the palace, since the Red Paladin was known for being impulsive and acting on instinct. (And in Keith’s case, also prone to muting the radio to block out those with better judgement.) 

Pidge sat by the main console, scrolling through what looked like the alien equivalent of the Internet on the gauntlet holoscreen while Coran ran diagnostics on a pod to make sure it was up and running. “I have to warn you,” he said when they walked in, “I’m not entirely sure this will work. The pods are designed to heal physical injuries, with specific settings for each species. Keith is a half-breed at the very least, and he has no physical injuries. It may not help him at all.”

While Coran was talking, Shiro wasted no time in bringing Keith straight to the pod standing open in the circle. He placed Keith inside it, and the pod closed up, positioning Keith as it did so that he was standing upright.

Hunk tapped his index fingers together the way he did when he was nervous. “Will he be alright? I mean, the rest of us had our Quintessence sucked out of us too. Why is he reacting differently? We were all fine.”

“Maybe because he’s part Galra?” Lance offered. “We’re all completely human and we all bounced back without a problem. Keith is the only one with mixed blood, and he’s in a healing pod.”

“Actually Lance, you’re on the right track.” Pidge stood up and the group gathered around the holoscreen projected from the Green Paladin’s gauntlet. “My lessons in the Altean language are nowhere near complete, but I know enough of the basic written language to translate words. Takes a while, but at least I can read. Now if I had a whole vocabulary―”

“Pidge,” Shiro interrupted, crossing his arms.

Pidge jumped and swiped up on the screen. “Right right. Anyway, according to my research, Galra use Quintessence in a very different way than most other organisms. It’s often used as medicine, like our vaccines back on Earth, and some say that the more dependent you are on Quintessence, the more yellow your Galran eyes are, but no one’s been able to prove that theory. Zarkon himself has presumably been using highly concentrated Quintessence combined with dark magic to keep himself alive for ten thousand years.”

“What does this have to do with Keith?” asked Lance.

“It’s just a theory, but my guess is that Quintessence is what’s keeping him in his human form―yes Lance, I’m hypothesizing that Keith can shapeshift into a Galra, considering he looked human before the battle and now he’s purple.”

Lance promptly closed his mouth; he most definitely had not been about to ask that exact question.

“So you’re saying he’s stuck like this?” Allura asked.

“I’m saying that this might be his true form,” Pidge corrected, “or at least one side of it, and that it’s concentrated Quintessence that makes him look human. I have no idea how such powerful Quintessence managed to get in his system, or how it’s managed to _stay in_ his system in such high concentration for so long, but―”

“His medication,” Shiro suddenly blurted.

Pidge looked at him. “What?”

“At the Garrison, Keith always had to take this yellow medication,” Shiro explained. “He said it was something for his immune system, to keep him from getting sick. Supposedly his immune system was weak.”

“Wait.” Hunk scratched the top of his head in thought. “That medication. What if that was Quintessence? Maybe that’s how he managed to stay human-looking for so long.”

Shiro nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

“So does that mean…” Lance’s eyes shifted from Pidge to Shiro. “Does that mean there are undercover Galra forces on Earth, keeping Keith supplied with Quintessence?”

“Guys!” Pidge yelled, successfully getting the group’s attention back. “Not the issue right now! We can ask Keith about it when he comes out of the pod. Right now we need to focus on his current condition.”

Shiro nodded. “Of course. Continue, Pidge.”

Pidge looked at the screen again. “As I was saying, the problem is that he’s been human, dependent on those doses of Quintessence for so long that the Quintessence has become a normal part of his biological functions, to the point where removing it is like removing an essential organ.”

“So how do we fix him?” asked Hunk. “I doubt he wants to stay looking like a Galra for the rest of his life.”

“We’ll have to figure that out later,” Allura said. “The cryopod is opening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I totally blew this chapter out my ass but hey thanks for sticking with it. I still think I wrote everyone so out of character except Pidge but I'm trying here. I'm usually pretty good with characterization. So I yelled at myself in the fic for practically switching Lance and Shiro's personalities


	3. Speculations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY UPDATED!!! Sorry it took so long. Writer's block is a bitch, and I'm trying to work on three or four other things besides this. Also life likes to get in the way of me actually having time to write. But like I said in my account description, I will find time to write, I will finish that fic, AND I DEFINITELY WANT TO FINISH THIS ONE!!!
> 
> Pidge Pronoun Game: Chapter 3. Still haven't used pronouns. It got a little difficult in this chapter, and I think I might have said "Pidge" a little too much at one point, but I'm having fun with this. I'm gonna try and see how long until I have to use pronouns

All six heads turned when the familiar hiss of the cryopod filled the room. The teal-colored glass―or whatever alien substance it was―evaporated into mist, spilling Keith out of the pod. On instinct, Hunk leapt forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.

Coran had been wrong. The pod had helped Keith. At the very least, he looked human again, though his hair retained the dark purple tint it had when he looked like a Galra. And it looked like he had scattered purple freckles on his cheeks and neck that echoed the color of his Galra skin. Those had definitely not been there before. Since none of them had been watching Keith until the pod opened, no one had seen him transform back, and it was safe to say everyone was confused. What on earth―could you say that in space?―had happened to Keith in that fight?

Keith looked around at everyone. “How long was I out?” His voice sounded better, but still strained, like his throat hurt.

Shiro relaxed a little at the sound of Keith’s non-smoker voice. “Not very long. Between five and ten minutes from when you passed out in the Red Lion to now.”

Keith’s brow furrowed a bit, like he was looking for a memory that refused to surface. Slowly, gingerly, he pushed himself away from Hunk and stood on his own, only to slump back against the now-closed pod with a hand to his forehead. “My head’s all scrambled. The last thing I remember is forming Voltron after Shiro got his bayard back. After that it’s all a blur.”

Shiro and Allura shared a concerned look, mirrored by Lance with Hunk and Pidge with Coran. All of them conveyed different messages with their eyes―concern about Voltron, concern about Keith, concern about potential brain damage―and needless to say it freaked Keith out. 

“Why are you all looking at each other like that?” Keith asked nervously, his hand staying on his forehead but his eyes flicking to each team member in turn, Alteans included. “Did I miss something important?”

“Perhaps we should retire to the mess hall,” Allura said calmly. “We all need to replenish ourselves after that battle, Paladins especially.” The last two words seemed to be pointedly directed at Keith.

Pidge and Lance nodded in tandem, both looking like starved puppies. Hunk raced off to the kitchens without a word, shortly followed by Coran, who yelled something about a new recipe he wanted to try. Pidge followed them, not wanting to miss the “food battle” between the two cooks in the house; it was always entertaining to watch Coran get his butt whooped at alien culinary by a teenage human who didn’t know what half of the ingredients were. 

Shiro walked over to Keith, resting his human hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay. You really had us worried.”

Keith looked at Shiro and then Lance, the only other people in the room besides Allura, who watched the exchange from a distance. “I don’t understand. Why is everyone so worried? I don’t feel different.”

“You don’t?” Lance asked, his eyes flicking to Shiro for a moment.

Keith shook his head. “No. Well, a little dizzy and tired, but that normally happens after coming out of a healing pod, right?”

Lance and Shiro both nodded, both having personal experience with healing pods that they were not eager to repeat.

Allura stepped forward, placing an unsure hand lightly on Keith’s shoulder. Even though she’d apologized for acting as she did toward him, she was still treading on uneven ground whenever she was close to him like this. True, Keith was still Keith, and he had been Galra since first setting foot on the Castleship, but knowing now that he had a Galra form hidden under human skin made her unsure again. He could still be an undercover Galra agent for all she knew. “We should get to the mess hall,” she said, her voice gentle. “You need to regain your strength.”

Keith nodded, stepping away from the healing pod. He stumbled a bit, and Lance caught his arm to keep him from falling.

“Princess,” Shiro whispered, motioning for Allura to walk with him ahead of the boys. She nodded and followed him out into the hall, leaving Keith and Lance alone in the medical chamber while Keith found his feet again.

“You good?” Lance asked, not wanting to let go of Keith until he was sure he could stand on his own two feet.

“I think so.” Keith watched the ground as he walked slowly beside Lance; Lance had one arm around Keith’s back while his free hand held tight to Keith’s elbow. As expected, Keith was confused. Lance was never this touchy with Keith―granted Keith wasn’t touchy with anyone―let alone so eager to help him. “Why are you doing this?”

Lance actually looked offended. “What, I’m not allowed to be concerned for you? I do have a heart, you know.”

Keith snickered. “I know, but normally you’d use my weakness to your advantage. Not try to, you know, actually help me.”

“So you admit you’re weak.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “And there it is.” Were Lance not currently the only thing keeping Keith upright, he would have elbowed him in the ribs.

Further ahead down the hall, Shiro and Allura spoke in hushed whispers. “You think he’s gonna be alright?” Shiro asked.

Allura sighed. “I know not. If what you say about the Quintessence is true, then he may not have long before his body malfunctions and he’s either stuck as a Galra forever, or…”

She doesn’t say the end of her sentence, and he doesn’t need to hear it.

In the mess hall, Hunk and Coran were busy arguing over whose dish is better while Pidge snuck space dessert from under their noses. Shiro and Allura arrived first, soon followed by Lance and Keith. Keith regained enough strength to walk mostly on his own, with Lance only gripping Keith’s arm to support him. Allura sat at the head of the table, Shiro sitting immediately at her right like he belonged there. 

Lance helped Keith into a chair at Allura’s left, then sat beside him. He felt oddly protective over Keith, like Keith was a starving puppy that needed constant attention. Yeah, the guy was his rival and was better than him at everything and was an ace flyer and was always doing cool stuff like flying into black holes and asteroid belts and taking on Zarkon head-on to save the Black Lion―granted it was really stupid but still awesome―but deep down he was still a human being, at least partially, and he needed to be protected from things that would hurt him just like everyone else. Lance would do the same for anyone else on the team. Right? This has nothing to do with _Keith._

Once Coran and Hunk finished arguing, they set their dishes on the table and took their seats. Pidge joined them, perching on the edge of the chair like a bird about to take flight. Keith dug into the food like he was starved for it, causing Hunk to laugh.

“Slow down, man,” he said. “Don’t choke on my space meatballs.”

Lance smirked behind his fork. “That sounds so wrong.”

“Lance,” Shiro scolded in his Dad Voice. Lance just rolled his eyes.

Allura swallowed her bite of what seriously looked like green meatballs and pasta and turned to Keith. “How’s your strength, Keith?”

Keith stopped inhaling his food long enough to respond to Allura. “It’s coming back. Less dizzy, and by the time we got here I could more or less walk without leaning on Lance, but I still feel…weird. Like I’m forgetting something, or like something’s missing.”

Pidge perked up in an instant. “I can answer that! From my readings, it looked like―”

“Pidge,” Shiro cut in, and Pidge instantly shut up. “Don’t overwhelm him. We’ll approach this slowly. The last thing he needs is more stress.”

Pidge nodded and went back to eating.

Shiro then turned to Keith, who had continued shoveling food into his face. “Keith, did you bring your medicine with you?”

Keith paused, his fork halfway to his mouth, and lowered it back to the plate. “I have an emergency stash in my belt pockets, just in case, but it’s running low. I have maybe three more injections left, and even then it’s only half the amount. It’s only meant to be used if I get caught away from home and I need it.”

“So it’s really just like a midday snack, to tide you over until you get home,” Hunk summarized in the only way he knew how: by relating the complicated subject to food.

Keith nodded. “Basically.”

“Have you ever run out of medicine before?” asked Pidge.

Keith shook his head. “Never. Well…” He paused, thinking, and everyone leaned closer a couple inches. “There was one time where I was between foster homes and I guess whoever was in charge of sending it didn’t know where to find me. I got a weird purple rash on my chest that slowly spread outward. It didn’t start to go away until I got my next shipment.”

“And how long did that last?”

“Almost a week.”

Pidge thought for a moment. “Do you remember when we went on that mission to the hidden Galra base? The one where Allura got captured?”

Shiro winced. “I try not to.”

“Anyway, when Keith called for an extraction, he sounded hurt. Later, after he got in the Green Lion, he kept looking at his hand like he was expecting it to come alive and eat him.” Pidge looked directly at Keith, eyes piercing behind huge circular glasses. “What happened when you fought the Druid that you didn’t tell us?”

Keith pushed his food around his plate, his appetite gone. “He hit me with that dark magic stuff. It…it made purple blotches show up on my hand. They went away when I was doused in the yellow Quintessence.”

“The yellow Quintessence that looks exactly like your medicine,” Shiro stated.

Keith nodded.

Lance, who’d been unusually quiet, spoke up. “Keith, have you considered the fact that you might have a Galra form?”

Keith looked at him like he sprouted horns. “No. Why would I? Galra can’t shapeshift.”

“You’re right,” Allura said. “They cannot. What we’re trying to get at is this: We think someone has been supplying you with Quintessence on Planet Earth to hide your true form and make you appear human. Who is doing it and why, we do not know. Nor do we know how they’re acquiring the Quintessence without the Galra knowing.”

Coran set more food on the table. “The Galra have not made contact with Earth, as far as I am aware,” he said. “Keith once asked me if the Galra had ever gone to Earth, and out of curiosity I ran some readings on the planet. I did not pick up any major Galra readings, only one consistent signature that I later realized was Keith.”

Keith pushed his plate away. “This is too much to take in so soon. I just found out I was Galra, and now you’re saying the Galra are supplying me with Quintessence to make me look human?”

Pidge nodded. “That’s the theory, anyway.”

“If Keith will allow it,” Coran said, “I may be able to run some tests on his blood and skin to see what’s going on with his cellular structure.”

Keith squirmed in his chair a little, and Keith was not the squirming type. “Will it hurt?”

“Not a bit.”

He messed with the hole in his glove where his claws had poked out of. “Alright.”

“Excellent.” Allura stood up. She’d barely eaten half her food. “Paladins, you are free to retire to your rooms to rest. You all had a very intense battle. You deserve some time to yourselves to recuperate. Coran and I will call you down to the bridge if we need you.”

Pidge, Lance and Hunk didn’t need to be told twice. They took most of the food with them as they scampered off to their rooms, no doubt to stay up for several hours talking and playing card games instead of sleeping, like they had a habit of doing in their down time between missions. Allura left with Coran, the two of them talking softly to each other in Altean about how to best go about the Keith situation.

Soon Keith and Shiro were left alone in the mess hall. Shiro looked at the young man he considered a brother, still messing with the holes in his gloves. “Keith, are you really okay?”

Keith shrugged. “I’m not sure. All this talk about me actually _turning_ Galra is starting to scare me. It’s one thing when Hunk jokes about it, but having it actually happen…” He looked at Shiro, fear swirling in his purple eyes. “What’s happening to me, Shiro? What’s wrong with me?”

Shiro stood up and moved around the table to Keith’s chair, bending down a little to hug his friend. Keith’s arms were around Shiro before the older Paladin even started speaking. “I don’t know. But we’re going to figure it out. No matter what. I promise. You don’t have to go through this alone. Even if it kills me, I’ll find out what’s happening to you, and I’ll fix it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm still not sure if we have official ages or not, here are my personal ages for the Paladins. Keep in mind these are my own headcanons because I'm not believing any ages I find on the Internet unless they're stated in some sort of official thing from the creators
> 
> Shiro - 25 (or literally six, because Leap Year Baby)  
> Keith - 18  
> Lance - 17 (almost 18)  
> Hunk - 17 (almost 18)  
> Pidge - 14

**Author's Note:**

> My personal gender headcanons for the lions:  
> Black: female  
> Red: female  
> Blue: male  
> Yellow: male (canon per Hunk)  
> Green: female (canon per Pidge)


End file.
